The man going 500 mph in the air might have seemed like the obvious first choice, but this is Thanksgiving, baby, and all the long-line-missed-flight-delayed-takeoff trimmings could be in play.

Hundreds of thousands of you were traveling today, and these three joined you. Which was the fastest way to get from point A to point B on this crazy travel day? "This is the bet that everybody in the country's making right now," CNN's Tom Foreman said. "What's the quickest way to get there in difficult times?" Let's see how they did in this quite unscientific venture. Follow along here, on CNN TV, and on Twitter (#CNNGreatRaceHome).

Turkey, football, family, shopping -- whatever. This is the Thanksgiving event you've been waiting for. Welcome to the live blog of today's race.

Here's how this is going to work. Robertson, Desjardins and Todd will start at noon ET, leaving CNN's "New Day" studio in New York. From there, Robertston will take a taxi to LaGuardia airport, Desjardins will take a taxi to Penn Station, and Todd will start driving.

They'll report their progress through tweets and Vines, which you'll see on this blog. They'll also pop up from time to time on CNN TV to report on the travel conditions wherever they are.

THE RACE: we'll leave live at noon, I'll get on a train, @NicRobertson will take a plane and trooper @BrianToddCNN will be in a car on 95.

by CNN11/27/2013 4:29:36 PM

Here's the rundown of how their plans would work out, if all goes smoothly:

Robertson: Take off at 1 p.m., land in Washington at 2:20 p.m., drive to CNN offices.Desjardins: Take a 1 p.m. Amtrak Acela train to Washington, arriving at 3:45 p.m., drive to CNN offices.Todd: Drive from New York to CNN offices in Washington, perhaps a four-hour trip. (So, an arrival sometime after 5 p.m.)Might not be that easy for Robertson, though. First of all, he'll need to make it to LaGuardia. He's leaving Time Warner Center in Manhattan for LaGuardia in Queens -- at least a 20-minute taxi ride. Then he needs to navigate the crowds there. Apparently he's going to go through security normally. You might think Mr. Senior International Correspondent would go through a TSA pre-check line, but not for this race, it seems.

And then there's the possibility of flight delays. Heavy winds today have caused delays averaging about an hour at LaGuardia, the FAA says. Though a delay might help him, since he's got a late start to the airport.

Train passenger Desjardins, like flier Robertson, also has a schedule to keep -- though her taxi ride should be shorter.

She'll take a taxi from Time Warner Center to Penn Station -- perhaps a 15-minute drive -- hoping to catch a 1 p.m. Acela train to Washington. If she catches that, and if there are no delays, she'll arrive in Washington around 3:45 p.m. Then it's a drive to her final destination.

Amtrak has reported no major delays systemwide. It expected to carry about 140,000 passengers, double its normal volume for a Wednesday.

So, Todd has quite a drive ahead of him. He'll leave New York and go through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, perhaps Delaware, and then Maryland to get to D.C. Google tells us that, in current traffic, he's looking at a drive of at least four hours and 20 minutes.

Motorists in much of the eastern U.S. are facing less-than-ideal conditions today as a winter-like storm hits. Up to a foot of snow has fallen in parts of Pennsylvania. Sleet and heavy rain are hitting parts of the Northeast.

No disrespect to other travelers - I would like @LisaDCNN 15 minute delay would be all difference for me @BrianTOddCNN hope all good for u

by CNN11/27/2013 5:51:22 PM

The turtle in this race, Todd the driver, is already south of Elizabeth, New Jersey, on the New Jersey Turnpike perhaps some 30 miles from his departure point. Video from his car shows he's had a pretty easy time of it so far -- plenty of clear space in the lanes.

"What we're surprised with is a lack of a backup here," Todd said on CNN TV moments ago. "I'm not going to get overconfident, but I like my chances right about now."